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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Sugarbeet and Potato Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #399220
Research Project: Increasing Sugar Beet Productivity and Sustainability through Genetic and Physiological Approaches

Location: Sugarbeet and Potato Research

Title: Evaluation of NPGS germplasm for resistance to sugar beet root maggot, 2022

Author
item Chu, Chenggen
item Hellier (ctr), Barbara
item Dorn, Kevin

Submitted to: Arthropod Management Tests
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/9/2023
Publication Date: 2/13/2023
Citation: Chu, C.N., Hellier, B.C., Dorn, K.M. 2023. Evaluation of NPGS germplasm for resistance to sugar beet root maggot, 2022. Arthropod Management Tests. 48(1). Article tsad002. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsad002.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsad002

Interpretive Summary: Sugarbeet root maggot (SBRM) is an insect pest of sugarbeet causing significant yield loss in growing areas of the upper Midwest and western regions of the United States and adjacent Canadian provinces. Host resistance to SBRM is an efficient method to manage insect damage to sugarbeet roots. In this study, a set of sugar beet germplasm lines from the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS), combined with resistance and susceptibility checks, were planted in a SBRM insect nursery in St. Thomas, North Dakota to assess their resistance to SBRM. The SBRM resistance levels of two wild sea beet accessions were similar to those of the resistance checks, suggesting they may harbor valuable sources of resistance to SBRM. Resistant wild sea beet germplasm will be re-evaluated to confirm SBRM resistance and will be used to develop new SBRM-resistant sugarbeet lines in the USDA-ARS SBRM pre-breeding program.

Technical Abstract: Sugarbeet root maggot (SBRM, Tetanops myopaeformis) is an insect pest of sugarbeet causing significant yield loss in growing areas of the upper Midwest and western regions of the United States and adjacent Canadian provinces. To identify sugarbeet germplasm lines with resistance to SBRM, 29 Beta vulgaris germplasm lines, combined with one susceptible and two resistant checks, were evaluated through natural infestation. All lines were grown in a SBRM insect nursery in St. Thomas, ND, a location that has consistently exhibited high SBRM pressure across years. A randomized complete block design was used for SBRM evaluation with 3 replications included. Root damage due to SBRM was evaluated in early September 2022 using a widely accepted rating scale of 0 to 9 according to severity of damage and size of feeding scars, and lines with ratings of 3 or less were considered resistant. Two accessions of wild sea beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima), PI 518344 and PI 518408, had the rating scores of 2.1 and 2.6, respectively, which were similar to rating scores in resistant checks, suggesting they may harbor valuable sources of resistance to SBRM. The two B. vulgaris ssp. maritima lines will be re-evaluated in the next grown season to confirm SBRM resistance and will be used to develop new SBRM-resistant sugarbeet lines in the USDA-ARS SBRM pre-breeding program.